This is my commentary on the first verse of the Epistle of Jude. Please tell me what ya'll think and if I should continue. Feel free to debate or bring up questions of controversial matters. Thanks in advance!
Jude is one rich epistle which approaches several key and controversial concepts in the church today. Jude himself is a half-brother of the earthly Jesus since he was the brother of James (Matt. 13:55). In this 25-verse text, Jude approaches the topic of Divine Election, Prayers Defense, False Teachers, and Apostasy. All of the content of this epistle is just as applicable today as it was back in Judes time. Jude writes his epistle in an argumentative form. That is not to say that he is being negative, only that he is enlightening believers as to certain facts and arguing against or for them so as to further the Kingdom of God.
The date and recipients of this epistle are impossible to determine though speculations have been made. Most claim that Jude came immediately after 2nd Peter because of the numerous parallel passages contained within. None can know for sure. The recipients of this epistle are never made clear. I believe that it was to the Christian population as a whole. To the ones called in God the Father, says Jude in the first verse of his epistle. In fully expositing this epistle I hope to explain to the reader, through the usage of the original Greek text, the meaning behind the words used in the passage.
We start with the first verse, which is literally[1] translated:
Jude, of Jesus Christ a slave, brother and of James, to those in God (the) Father having been set apart, and by Jesus Christ having been kept, called:
The Literal interpretation of the Bible (Jay Green, Sr.)[2] translates this verse as:
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the ones called in God the Father, having been set apart, and having been kept through Jesus Christ:
Humility and the Christian Church
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ,
The author begins by introducing himself as Jude. Notice that He does not proudly present himself as merely a follower of Christ, but rather a slave. The word for slave here is doulos, which means servant. A servant is naturally a follower of someone with whom one serves. The servant is at his masters command, doing everything that his master instructs him to do. The slave is a man of servile condition.
Jude is not being prideful or boastful, but rather being very humble about his occupation in relation to Jesus. One can immediately see how this is in contrast to todays Christian world at large. Many pastors, elders and church-goers parade around as if they are Gods gift to mankind. Pompous people such as these can not produce divine inspiration because their minds are extremely clouded with their big-headed arrogance which gets in the way of their ability to distinguish divine viewpoint[3] from their human viewpoint[4].
Some things to watch out for when observing biblical teachers: (2 Pt. 2; Galatians 1:10;4:17; 2 Timothy 3:6; 2 Peter 2:3,18; Revelations 2:14,20, 2nd Corinthians 10:10)
1. Flowery Language Many who use elaborate words and flowery language in their messages do so in order to cloud the audiences judgment and deceive, making them think that they are hearing great wisdom. What the audience may actually be hearing in this case is heretical doctrine, extraneous material, or fluff in order to stretch the thin message out over a period of time[5]. There are some pastors, however, that use this naturally, but beware that they are not letting it cloud the message. That can only indicate human viewpoint because a message from God need not be enhanced with big, flowery words.
2. Seeker-friendly messages within the church Seeker-friendly means: a message that is preached within the church that is for all to hear, both believers and unbelievers. Pastors preach these types of messages with the best intentions, however the church is only meant for the edification of believers. All throughout the New Testament, there is never any mention of unbelievers in church. The Church is always mentioned in light of believers only. God will add to the churchs numbers if the people of the church are doing their job and exercising their spiritual gifts effectively (Jeremiah 30:19, Acts 9:31, Acts 16:5). Evangelism and the Church as a whole should be kept separate, in my opinion.
3. Surface level material Many common pastors preach with such surface-level material so that the people will easily understand. However, this is surface-level. This is milk and will not edify a firm believer. A believer should find a small group for that. This is the chief reason for a state of non-growth in a church. I am not talking about numbers, but rather about spiritual growth. It is because the members as lambs do not receive the rich pure milk from the true mother church, but receive some diluted, adulterated milk, and therefore now, cannot digest, assimilate, strong meat when it is fed to them to make spiritual growth. Surface level material preached within the church is milk, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it is more like skim milk.
While there are many other things to watch out for, these are some of the chief concerns. The humility of the church is absolutely essential (Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, Philippians 2:3, Acts 20:19-20). Where there are pastors and elders and televangelists that parade around claiming and thinking that they are Gods supreme gift to Mankind, you should know to stay away from arrogant people such as that.
One of the most important things to look out for, however, is the presence of the gift of pastor-teacher (2nd Timothy 2:2, 4:2), for one must have this in order to preach and teach to a congregation. Human viewpoint is all that can come out of the mouth of someone who has not received this gift yet chooses to live a life as if he had it. That is in pure rebellion to God and God will not sanction it. Always remember to be humble in your Christian walk, not boasting and proudly declaring that you are a follower of God. Now this is not to say that you should not be thankful for this, indeed you should! However, to use pride for personal gain and honor would be an anathema. Humility is a key to the church! Live it!
[1] It must be noted that while this is a literal, word-for-word translation from the original Greek text, the English words themselves can in no way do the original Greek words justice in communicating the meaning. For instance, the word delight cannot do any justice to the original Greek meaning, which pictures one bending down toward the object of ones delight. The translation following the exact literal one is designed to help in that area.
[2] For the purposes of this exposition, a literal word-for-word translation will be presented for every verse in this epistle, followed by The literal interpretation of the Bible translation by Jay Green, Sr.
[3] Divine viewpoint is that which is in direct contrast to human viewpoint. Divine viewpoint is that which comes straight out of the Word of God and is doctrinally sound. It is essentially the words of God being spoken through a person whether it is a preacher, elder, or a Christian layman. Only people with proper biblical hermeneutics and a solid relationship with God the Father can produce Divine viewpoint, the rest is human, is fallible, because of those qualities is also false.
[4] Human viewpoint is that which is in direct contrast to Divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint is that which comes from a fallible human understanding. It cannot be mixed in any way, shape, or form with Divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint comes from our imperfect and mortal minds and therefore, apart from Divine viewpoint, cannot produce anything biblically and doctrinally sound and can therefore only produce falsities and heresies.
[5] A message coming from Divine viewpoint will never be thin, slight, or trivial.
Jude is one rich epistle which approaches several key and controversial concepts in the church today. Jude himself is a half-brother of the earthly Jesus since he was the brother of James (Matt. 13:55). In this 25-verse text, Jude approaches the topic of Divine Election, Prayers Defense, False Teachers, and Apostasy. All of the content of this epistle is just as applicable today as it was back in Judes time. Jude writes his epistle in an argumentative form. That is not to say that he is being negative, only that he is enlightening believers as to certain facts and arguing against or for them so as to further the Kingdom of God.
The date and recipients of this epistle are impossible to determine though speculations have been made. Most claim that Jude came immediately after 2nd Peter because of the numerous parallel passages contained within. None can know for sure. The recipients of this epistle are never made clear. I believe that it was to the Christian population as a whole. To the ones called in God the Father, says Jude in the first verse of his epistle. In fully expositing this epistle I hope to explain to the reader, through the usage of the original Greek text, the meaning behind the words used in the passage.
We start with the first verse, which is literally[1] translated:
Jude, of Jesus Christ a slave, brother and of James, to those in God (the) Father having been set apart, and by Jesus Christ having been kept, called:
The Literal interpretation of the Bible (Jay Green, Sr.)[2] translates this verse as:
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the ones called in God the Father, having been set apart, and having been kept through Jesus Christ:
Humility and the Christian Church
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ,
The author begins by introducing himself as Jude. Notice that He does not proudly present himself as merely a follower of Christ, but rather a slave. The word for slave here is doulos, which means servant. A servant is naturally a follower of someone with whom one serves. The servant is at his masters command, doing everything that his master instructs him to do. The slave is a man of servile condition.
Jude is not being prideful or boastful, but rather being very humble about his occupation in relation to Jesus. One can immediately see how this is in contrast to todays Christian world at large. Many pastors, elders and church-goers parade around as if they are Gods gift to mankind. Pompous people such as these can not produce divine inspiration because their minds are extremely clouded with their big-headed arrogance which gets in the way of their ability to distinguish divine viewpoint[3] from their human viewpoint[4].
Some things to watch out for when observing biblical teachers: (2 Pt. 2; Galatians 1:10;4:17; 2 Timothy 3:6; 2 Peter 2:3,18; Revelations 2:14,20, 2nd Corinthians 10:10)
1. Flowery Language Many who use elaborate words and flowery language in their messages do so in order to cloud the audiences judgment and deceive, making them think that they are hearing great wisdom. What the audience may actually be hearing in this case is heretical doctrine, extraneous material, or fluff in order to stretch the thin message out over a period of time[5]. There are some pastors, however, that use this naturally, but beware that they are not letting it cloud the message. That can only indicate human viewpoint because a message from God need not be enhanced with big, flowery words.
2. Seeker-friendly messages within the church Seeker-friendly means: a message that is preached within the church that is for all to hear, both believers and unbelievers. Pastors preach these types of messages with the best intentions, however the church is only meant for the edification of believers. All throughout the New Testament, there is never any mention of unbelievers in church. The Church is always mentioned in light of believers only. God will add to the churchs numbers if the people of the church are doing their job and exercising their spiritual gifts effectively (Jeremiah 30:19, Acts 9:31, Acts 16:5). Evangelism and the Church as a whole should be kept separate, in my opinion.
3. Surface level material Many common pastors preach with such surface-level material so that the people will easily understand. However, this is surface-level. This is milk and will not edify a firm believer. A believer should find a small group for that. This is the chief reason for a state of non-growth in a church. I am not talking about numbers, but rather about spiritual growth. It is because the members as lambs do not receive the rich pure milk from the true mother church, but receive some diluted, adulterated milk, and therefore now, cannot digest, assimilate, strong meat when it is fed to them to make spiritual growth. Surface level material preached within the church is milk, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it is more like skim milk.
While there are many other things to watch out for, these are some of the chief concerns. The humility of the church is absolutely essential (Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, Philippians 2:3, Acts 20:19-20). Where there are pastors and elders and televangelists that parade around claiming and thinking that they are Gods supreme gift to Mankind, you should know to stay away from arrogant people such as that.
One of the most important things to look out for, however, is the presence of the gift of pastor-teacher (2nd Timothy 2:2, 4:2), for one must have this in order to preach and teach to a congregation. Human viewpoint is all that can come out of the mouth of someone who has not received this gift yet chooses to live a life as if he had it. That is in pure rebellion to God and God will not sanction it. Always remember to be humble in your Christian walk, not boasting and proudly declaring that you are a follower of God. Now this is not to say that you should not be thankful for this, indeed you should! However, to use pride for personal gain and honor would be an anathema. Humility is a key to the church! Live it!
[1] It must be noted that while this is a literal, word-for-word translation from the original Greek text, the English words themselves can in no way do the original Greek words justice in communicating the meaning. For instance, the word delight cannot do any justice to the original Greek meaning, which pictures one bending down toward the object of ones delight. The translation following the exact literal one is designed to help in that area.
[2] For the purposes of this exposition, a literal word-for-word translation will be presented for every verse in this epistle, followed by The literal interpretation of the Bible translation by Jay Green, Sr.
[3] Divine viewpoint is that which is in direct contrast to human viewpoint. Divine viewpoint is that which comes straight out of the Word of God and is doctrinally sound. It is essentially the words of God being spoken through a person whether it is a preacher, elder, or a Christian layman. Only people with proper biblical hermeneutics and a solid relationship with God the Father can produce Divine viewpoint, the rest is human, is fallible, because of those qualities is also false.
[4] Human viewpoint is that which is in direct contrast to Divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint is that which comes from a fallible human understanding. It cannot be mixed in any way, shape, or form with Divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint comes from our imperfect and mortal minds and therefore, apart from Divine viewpoint, cannot produce anything biblically and doctrinally sound and can therefore only produce falsities and heresies.
[5] A message coming from Divine viewpoint will never be thin, slight, or trivial.
